A Father to Love
by Cissa The Bookworm
Summary: How different would Will's life be if Halt raised him as a son instead of putting him in the ward like in the books? What new dangers and adventures would Will face? And would he still be the same Will that we all know and love?
1. Prologue

**A Father to Love**

**Prologue**

"My wife, she should be giving birth any day. I don't want her to be alone, will you please visit her? Tell her that I died nobly and that I love her?" The dying man asked the Ranger he saved as his last, dying wish.

"I will." The Ranger vowed, "If anything happens to her, I'll make sure to take care of your child." He gruffly added, both men knowing the dangers of childbirth.

"Thank…you." He said right before he drew his last breath. The Ranger watched as his savior passed on, closing the man's eyes before he stood up and strode over to his horse, the battle already done.

"Let's go find this man's wife." The Ranger murmured to his horse. The pair would make it to the house moments before the man's wife went into labor and the Ranger would solemnly explain what happened to her husband and his promise of taking care of the two of them.

The midwife would kick the Ranger out of the house only to come out hours later holding a newborn baby in her arms. "The mother passed. She named him Will."

The Ranger nodded and took the baby in his arms, looking down at Will before returning his gaze towards the midwife. "Tell the villagers whatever you wish, but Will is coming with me. I made a promise to both of the parents to take care of the baby if anything happened."

"I will tell them that the baby was also lost. They will mourn, but life will move on. Here," the midwife handed the Ranger a small necklace, "this is for Will, when he gets older. And this," she now handed over a letter, "for when he turns fifteen. Take good care of him, he is going to be extraordinary when he grows up." The midwife nodded once at the Ranger before disappearing into the village to alert the correct people of the woman's death.

"Let's go home." The Ranger murmured to his horse and Will as he swung up into the saddle and the trio cantered off into the darkening twilight.

**This is an old story that I had on another website and it was in rather rough form over there, so I just decided to rework it and actually turn it into a story. I bet you all can tell me who the Ranger is in this story! Please review, it would make my day! And before I forget, I do not own Ranger's Apprentice, so this story is officially DISCLAIMED. **


	2. Chapter One

**A Father to Love**

**Chapter One**

Ten years later found a young Will running around Ranger Halt's house, not wanting to take his bath. "Will! Come back here right now! You can't go to the castle the way you are!"

"But Dad, I don't want to!"

"Will, now." Halt said, coming to a standstill in the middle of the tiny kitchen.

"Aw, Dad-"

"Now, Will. We have to meet the Baron soon and you still have to pack."

"Fine." Will conceded and twenty minutes later found Will clean, packed, and ready to walk to Redmont Castle with his father. "But why can't I come with you?"

"Because a Ranger mission is no place for a kid to be." Halt patiently explained to his son again.

"Then why can't I stay with Gilan or any of the other Rangers? Why do I have to go stay at the Ward?"

"Because some Rangers value peace and quiet."

"Dad."

"You're a special case, you know that right?"

"I'm the only kid that's not an apprentice that gets to live with a Ranger. Most Rangers get married really late in life, or not at all. Usually no kids, unless they had a fling when they were younger or adopt. So why did they let you keep me? Why not send me to the Ward when I was a baby?"

Halt stopped the two of them so he could squat down to be a Will's level, "Because I could take care of you. There was no reason for you to stay in the Ward if you didn't have to and those other Rangers couldn't take you away from me if they tried."

Will nodded before throwing his arms around Halt in a hug, "Love you, Dad."

Instead of replying, Halt simply pulled Will even closer and ran his hand through his son's hair. The two shortly parted and continued on their journey to the castle. Soon enough the pair was being let through into the Baron's office.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd appear." Baron Arald said.

"So you will let him stay?" Halt inquired, one hand placed gently on Will's shoulder.

"Of course, of course, plenty of room for one more child." Arald said flippantly, "You can escort him down to the Ward, children should be away at lessons for the moment, but he'll be fine."

"Thank you." Halt lowly said before sharply turning and exiting the room, Will hot on his heels. The two made the quick journey down to the Ward housing and too soon Halt was departing with one last hug and some last words, "You will be fine here. I'll be back for you as soon as possible. If you have any real problems, there is a retired Ranger stationed here to take care of the fief while I'm gone, go to him and show him this letter. Alright?"

"I'll miss you."

"And I you. I must be leaving now, take care my son."

"Keep safe, Dad."

Halt gave Will one last fond smile before turning away and heading back towards his cabin to prepare for his mission. Will slowly trudged into his assigned room and started to unpack his things into the trunk and small shelf that he was given. "Well, I guess this is home for who knows how long." He muttered to himself before walking out into the main room and plopping down at the rickety old table with a book in hand.

Not twenty minutes later did four other kids come tumbling through the door, only to stop and stare at Will.

"Who're you?" the tall, broadest (for a child) boy asked.

"I'm Will, your new wardmate."

A tall, blonde, willowy female spoke next, "Hello, I'm Alyss. And this is Jenny, George, and the rude one is Horace."

"Hey!"

"Horace, you're rude and you know it." Jenny said, "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go cook."

George smiled after Jenny and said offhandedly to Will, "That's her favorite pastime. I love reading. What do you like to do?"

"I enjoy reading too…but I enjoy my bow much more." Will hesitantly said.

"Bow? You shoot? Oh, I have some questions…." George babbled, drawing Will into a long discussion about bows, arrows, and techniques that both boys were all too happy to have.

Hours later found Will perched on a tree branch outside of the Ward. He watched as all the lights in the castle and village went out save for the torches that were kept handy for the guards and the low fires on the castle walls, as the nighttime chill was starting to creep in. Will then turned his gaze towards the stars, looking over all the constellations that his father had painstakingly taught him. "Hurry back Dad, the nights here are too noisy….everything is too noisy. I miss the forest, I miss the cabin, and most importantly, I miss you." Will whispered to himself before he sighed, shimmied down the tree, and ghosted back into his bed inside the ward.

The next day dawned bright and the other kids crawled out of bed and followed their noses to the kitchen, expecting to find Jenny cheerfully creating breakfast, but instead they found Will alternatively humming and mumbling to himself as he easily moved around the kitchen. "What are you doing?" Jenny asked in surprise.

"Cooking."

"I can see that." She replied.

"Oh, I suppose you usually cook." Jenny nodded in confirmation. "I usually helped my Dad cook, sorry if I pushed you out."

"No, no it's fine. Do you mind if I help?" Will grinned and nodded in agreement and Jenny scrubbed off her hands and set to work alongside Will.

After breakfast, the kids set off to their morning classes, which Will found incredibly dull and easy, already having learned most everything already but he played along and listened to the lectures anyways. Then came a quick lunch and a free afternoon which Will spent exploring and hiding out in the tree, when he tired of the presence of the others. But as supper approached, Will slunk back in and cooked once more alongside Jenny.

Most days followed in the same way over the next five years. Though Will marked nightly a tally on a piece of paper, marking how long his father had been away, the days mostly blended together in childish fun and innocence. For the most part, Will and the other Ward children spent the next five years anticipating the Choosing Day and ignoring their future for the fun times that youth afforded, all five ignoring the fact that soon they would have to look towards their future and what they wished to do with it.

**Well here is chapter one, I hope you enjoyed it. A lot longer than the prologue for sure! Please send me a review, it would make my day! And also tell me anything you disliked or liked about this in that review if you would please! I hope to have the next chapter out soon-ish. **


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